A Thief in the Night

The dark-haired man asked, surprising Pietro.
“Yeah, you’re not still hung up on the bitch are you?” Pietro lowered his voice slightly. “Don’t forget that the faithless tramp is the reason you’re in here in the first place.”
“Yeah, well, I might want to go back and finish what I started someday.” He replied. “And I know you like keeping an eye on that little peach of a roommate she’s got.” He smiled at Pietro who narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like people to notice his interest in Rogue. “What’s the interest in the ice-bitch anyway?” Alvers asked, leaning forward. “You like living dangerously, or you just want her cause she’s probably the oldest virgin at that stupid school.” Pietro ignored the questions and returned to business.
“Can you use your mutation at all?” He asked. Lance nodded slightly. “How much control do you have?”
“Only on the immediate area. Any further than five or six feet around me and things get hairy. The drugs they give me just keep my focus off. It’s like having ADD or something.”
“Okay, you’ll need to trust me Lance, and do exactly as I say. Got it?” Lance’s eyes widened a little. He nodded slowly, getting his game face on. His featured hardened into firm lines.
“What do you want me to do?” He asked.
“Just get ready to break this glass.” He replied, tapping the barrier. “Think you can do that?”
“On my worst day, pal.” They shared a grin.
“Let’s do it.”

Rogue drove to the mansion alone. Kitty had hitched a ride earlier with Kurt. She dressed simply in jeans, black boots, and a black shirt. Her habit of dark colors was going to take some time to kick completely. And she wore the scarf Logan had given her in order to hide the telltale bite on her neck. She was still giddy from her night with Gambit. She trusted Kurt to keep her secret. She hadn’t told anyone about him and Kitty, so she figured he owed her one. It wasn’t like Kitty and Kurt had been a complete secret. They just didn’t elaborate on there earlier falling out. She parked in the garage and walked into the mansion through the back door.
The first person Rogue saw was Storm. The tall woman smiled at her gently.
“Good morning, Rogue.” She said. “Are you here for practice?” Rogue wasn’t assisting in any cla tod today, but she’d promised to help Amara with one of her projects in History class. The young woman was doing a report on the Civil war, and Rogue had a great interest in the subject and offered to help. She told Storm this and the woman nodded. “It’s kind of you to help the younger students.” She said with her usual formality. Rogue made her way to the archives. As she passed the Danger Room, the door opened and Logan stepped out. She smiled at him and he grinned when he saw the scarf she’d draped around her neck. The smile froze on his face and his expression turned to one of surprise.
“What is it?” Rogue asked, stopping dead in her tracks. Logan reached up and tugged on the scarf. Rogue reached up to stop him but opted to just turn slightly and try to hide the side of her neck from his view. When the stocky man had slipped the scarf from her, he lifted it to his nose. His eyes glittered oddly at her. Her blood seemed to stop in her veins. “Uh, what’s the matter, Logan?” She asked with a tremor in her voice.
“Kid, you’d better tell me that you had a break-in last night. Or have some really good explanation as to why your scarf smells like it’s been handled by the Cajun.” Rogue opened her mouth and closed it again without being able to form words. She reached out or the scarf but he caught her wrist and tugged her closer, bringing her neck into view. Remembering Kitty’s story about how he’d reacted to a man making a mark on her, Rogue swallowed a lump in her throat and searched for words.
“Ah can explain.” She said. Before she spoke, a group of noisy teenagers poured into the hallway. Logan just dragged her into the elevator and the door slid shut behind them.
“When did this start?” He growled.
“Just after our apartment got trashed.” She replied. Logan was tense. He seemed to be vibrating with anger and something she couldn’t place. “Ah know Ah don’t have to tell you that we’re being extremely careful.”
“Kid, a guy wearing a rubber isn’t what I’m worried about.” Rogue blushed at his blunt words. “Obviously you’d be taking precautions. I just want to be sure you know what you’re doing. It’s not like you’ve had a lot of experience in this area.” He shrugged and let go of her wrist. “I know what kind of guy Gambit is, and I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Sometimes you have to risk a little pain, Logan. Ah’m not stupid enough to be thinkin’ about churches and baby carriages, Ah’m just trying to be close to someone for a while.” Logan nodded, he looked like he wanted to say more, but he kept it to himself. He handed her back the scarf and reached up and brushed his thumb over the bit on her neck. Rogue shivered both from the feeling of real flesh-to-flesh contact, and from the absorption of his gifts. He only touched her for a moment, but she knew, without glancing in a mirror, that he’d taken care of the slight bruise on her neck. He left the elevator and walked away.
There had been something in Logan’s mannerisms that betrayed more than he’d let on, even in their brief contact, he hadn’t been able to shield himself completely from her. There was a tiny bit of jealousy lurking beneath the surface of his concern. It was an odd thought that Rogue didn’t want to explore right now. But she would, some other time. She went to Amara’s room to begin working on the history project.